The Costs for Supporting White Male Patriarchy and Greed

So we've got less than 50 days and according to numerous polls this election is tighter than a drum. How can that be? There's the possibility that the corporate media is flat out lying to the public to mislead us. Ok let's be real - that's more than likely - especially when you take into account those national polls focus on older people with landline phones. Yet those numbers still seem rather high in favor of McCain considering what a lousy candidate he is. Will this election come down to a few people who refuse to let go of their racial preferences and need to appear superior? 

When McCain said he didn't know anything about the economy why wasn't that a deal-breaker with the voting populace? Is that being a maverick? Madonna is more of one than he ever was and even based her record label on the concept. Speaking of Madonna she always insisted on investing in things like art. When tech stocks were all the rage - remember them - she said they were too unstable. Perhaps if we're going to be obsessed with image or personality or ovaries we should look to her for business advice and standards. 

McCain certainly knows enough to marry a wealthy woman, be involved in a savings and loan theft, and support his 'former' advisor Phil Gramm who wrote the bills that allowed this latest mortgage catastrophe to occur. This would be the same person that said the people who've taken note of the crumbling economy and are justifiably upset are "whiners".  McCain's just going along with things and has no idea what his closest allies are up to. He didn't pick Palin to be the Trojan horse for issues that will negatively impact women. Yeah right. 

Do you know what McCain does as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee? Today his spokesperson claimed he invented the Blackberry! I thought Research in Motion was a Canadian company though. Hmm.

Insurance giant AIG is on the verge of collapse and the Fed and other companies are scrambling to put a deal in place to try to stop it.  Goldman Sachs will see almost no profits for its 3rd quarter earnings which means that it's very close to running in the red - businesses that don't make profits tend to go under. 

Now if you're part of the less wealthy segment like me you may be wondering what this all means. You may not have had any investments after all. You certainly didn't get to profit when these companies guaranteed financing for interest-only mortgages and the rates went from 1% to 20% overnight. You may have been one of those consumers that Suze Orman warned against taking them 2 years ago because the payments would soon balloon out of control. You will definitely be one of the tax payers who ends up footing the bill for this debacle - you and your grandchildren and their children that is. Meanwhile all the CEOs get to walk away with their 20-300M severance packages and the public says nothing?

Of course McCain promises more of the same should he be selected with regards to your health insurance. If you have employer-paid insurance you'll be taxed on the declared value of your coverage. Mine cost $534/month for individual coverage in addition to my co-payments and deductibles. The upside according to him is the $2500 refundable tax credit I'd be gifted. So I'd already be operating in the red cos my insurance costs $6468 per year + $600 in deductibles + $10 co-payments + cost of Rx. Now I may be suffering from fuzzy math itis but if he has his way I'd get to "choose" my insurer, but be taxed for it and end up paying at least $4000 more all because McCain claims to have a "better" plan.  

He also wants to gut Medicare and Social Security while giving more tax breaks to corporations. Now the question should not be about who has more experience when you see how the person who's been at this for 26 years has been in the thick of muck his entire time in the Senate. When he displays his lack of judgement at every opportunity. When his campaign lies and lies again and lies some more still. 

The question is for us and where we place our values. Maintaining a false status quo and being prideful won't keep you in a job, in a home or put gas in your car. It also won't defeat sexism or buy you a pony. It won't make millions of people around the world hate the US any less. 

We are responsible for the government we have and how that government behaves. Until we take ownership of that we will continue to pay a high price. When will it be enough?  

Update 824pm: The Fed agrees to bail out AIG to the tune of an $85 BILLION loan. 

Why is welfare ok when it applies to businesses but not for individuals? When it benefits a few politicians and their friends. Since the costs will be passed to us I say the gov't should give us a tax reprieve for the next 10 years. This is way more important than the casting of a golden-haired actor to play James Bond, but our eyes were not on the prize. We need to get some new laws in place and enforce the ones on the books.